Contents

Character and places of interest

In GTA III, set in 2001, the area is in the process of demolition of old buildings and large-scale redevelopment with the construction of the Staunton Plaza (due to be complete "next fall"); much of the district has also been dug out. Panlantic Construction Company, in charge of the area's development, is suspected by the LCPD to be one of the many fronts for the Colombian Cartel, which explains the presence of Cartel members and their custom trucks in the area.

Fort Staunton before its destruction in GTA Liberty City Stories.

Fort Staunton is revealed in GTA Liberty City Stories, set three years earlier in 1998, to be previously known as Staunton's Little Italy, once a vibrant and lavish district. Fort Staunton has many buildings, mostly stores and rowhouses. Notable buildings in Little Italy included an opera house, an Italian restaurant, and a museum. However the district was destroyed by Toni Cipriani in GTA Liberty City Stories, after he placed several explosives in a disused subway station, via an unfinished section of the Porter Tunnel. The Forelli Family operated in Fort Staunton's Little Italy, but are driven out after its destruction. After the explosion, the district was cordoned off; no traffic or pedestrians could enter, as firefighters (and a parked Fire Truck) and military personnel surveyed the destructed scene. Donald Love, who secretly gave Cipriani the orders, invested in the area's real estate until the Colombian Cartel (through Panlantic construction and the recently deceased Avery Carrington, who formulated the plan) demanded shares by nearly killing Love.

It can be assumed, following events in GTA Liberty City Stories, that the Colombian Cartel-controlled Panlantic Construction Company eventually moved in to Fort Staunton's redevelopment, clearing away nearly all remnants of the district in preparation for the groundbreaking Staunton Plaza. There is still a short tunnel under the area in GTA III that may be the only remaining bit of the disused subway tunnel Toni Cipriani used to plant the explosives.

Influence

Gang control

As Panlantic is affiliated with the Colombian Cartel, Fort Staunton is depicted in GTA III to be under the control of the gang during early progression of the game's storyline. However, with Donald Love orchestrating the murder of Yakuza co-leader Kenji Kasen to falsely implicated the Cartel and instigate a gang war between the two factions, the Yakuza launched an offensive into Fort Staunton, leading to Yakuza members appearing on the streets, frequently engaging in firefights with the Cartel and nearby Yardies, who are walking their turfs in the borders between Fort Staunton and Newport.
Fort Staunton is one of the most violent neighborhoods in GTA III, because after the mission Grand Theft Aero there are always gang members fighting each other, the Yakuza members are seen most usually.

Fort Staunton in GTA Liberty City Stories was under control by the Forellis, who apparently maintained a large ammunition storage area underneath the district. The aforementioned destruction of Fort Staunton was actually planned by Donald Love with the backing of Leone don, Salvatore Leone, to kill two birds with one stone: The bombing crippled Forelli activity in the city as well as spearheading redevelopment. In the aftermath of the bombing, the entire district has been condemned, and idle soldiers armed with MP5Ks can be patrolling the ruins. After the explosion, local media blamed the Forellis' munitions storage as being the source of the explosion.

Trivia

Two full scale gang wars erupted in Fort Staunton, the first being in GTA Liberty City Stories between the Forellis and the Sindaccos, and with the second being in GTA III between the Colombian Cartel and the Yakuza.

The soldiers spawned in this area are coded as armed civilians instead of law enforcement or a standalone "gang". When the army starts chasing the player at a 5-star wanted level, they will not join the fight. This can also be observed if the "pedestrians follow" cheat is entered.

Gallery

The Staunton Plaza poster in the construction of Fort Staunton, GTA III.